Renault '09 global sales fell 3.1% to 2.31 mln vehicles

French automotive group Renault SA reported Thursday that its global vehicle sales fell 3.1% in 2009 to 2.31 million vehicles, and ruled out a recovery in 2010, as car makers battle to preserve market share.

"I don't think we'll see a recovery in volume sales this year," Renault's head of sales Jerome Stoll told reporters, noting that two-thirds of the company's sales are in Europe. Renault is projecting a fall of between 8% and 10% in car sales in Europe this year compared to 2009 as government incentives such as scrapping initiatives come to an end or are wound down.

Renault said that despite the economic downturn, it had managed to increase its share of the global automobile market by 0.1 percentage point last year to 3.7% in a market that contracted by 4.7%, due to an increase in production in the second half of the year and the launch of new models.

Stoll said the price war among manufacturers that's eroding profit margins is likely to escalate this year as they try to hold on to market share. "Commercial performance in 2010 should be measured by market share" rather than volumes, he said.

While Renault's global sales of cars rose by 0.7% last year, and its market share was up 0.2 percentage points at 4.3%, sales of light-commercial vehicles plunged 24% from 2008.

The company's sales volumes in Europe surged 39% in the last quarter of 2009 as buyers rushed to take advantage of government incentives before they were trimmed. In December alone, car sales were up 43% while those of light-commercial vehicles rose 24%, as most economies emerged from recession.

Michael Tyndall, industry specialist at Nomura International, said that the year-end numbers "are flattered by the collapse in sales in late 2008 when, in addition to the economic woes, Renault's fortunes were burdened by the changeover of the all-important Megane."

The company received a sales boost last year from its Romanian subsidiary Dacia, whose worldwide sales rose 21% from 2008 and were up 40% in December.

Sales of the Dacia brand's low-budget vehicles in Europe surged 91% in 2009 as consumers opted for cheaper, less sophisticated vehicles. Dacia had a 1.3% share of the European market last year.

Renault exports a very small number of cars to China, but still has no industrial presence in that fast-growing market. Stoll said the company is currently trying to optimize its sales in markets where it already has a presence, but said the company will be considering an industrial investment in China later this year.

Renault is also absent from the U.S. market, and Stoll said the U.S. "isn't part of Renault's strategy, at least for the time being."

Stoll said the launch of six new models in 2010 will help underpin sales. The company in the first quarter will start offering the SM5, a high-end sedan made by its South Korean subsidiary Renault Samsung Motors, and Dacia will be launching a sports utility vehicle variant of its Logan later in the year.

Earlier this week, Renault's domestic rival PSA Peugeot-Citroen (UG.FR) reported a 2.2% decline in its global sales in 2009.